


It's Not a Problem Once You Have a Solution

by orphan_account



Category: due South
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-26
Updated: 2012-07-26
Packaged: 2017-11-10 19:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/469808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fraser solves a problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Not a Problem Once You Have a Solution

Fraser will never, ever tell Ray the truth about why he first kissed him: to make him stop talking.

Ray Kowalski’s voice bothered him from the start. Ray Vecchio could have had plastic surgery, could have even done…something…to lose ten pounds of muscle without replacing it with fat. He could have gotten an experimental toupee and had his entire lower jaw fractured and restructured, although the work would have been extensive enough that Ray would have been, at the very least, left with major bruising that would have persisted long past Fraser’s vacation.

But the voice…that was not, is not, Ray Vecchio’s voice. Most obviously, Ray Kowalski’s voice features a thoroughly Midwestern, flat vowel, exaggerated “R” accent. An accent that even has a vague hint of Canada and the United Kingdom to it (Fraser would later find out that Barbara Kowalski, nee Mackintosh, had been born in Alberta and only moved to Illinois when she was fifteen).

Ray Vecchio’s accent, on the other hand, isn’t really very “Chicago” at all. It is definitely Italian, though, with those overly dentalized “D” and “T” sounds that are considered so elegant in Italy and, thanks to anti-immigrant prejudice, so inelegant in the United States. Vecchio really is Italian through and through. Kowalski is a uniquely American mix, his voice as brash and harsh as the city that bred him.

And, truth be told, when it comes to Ray Kowalski, Fraser loves the man but hates the voice. It grates, and while Ray means well, Fraser wants to charge him with crimes against the English language. “Ironical.” Really? Kowalski’s voice, and words, would be unbearable coming from a mere partner, so Fraser makes sure to become Ray Kowalski’s friend, because friendship can, and has, forgiven much worse.

It’s only when Kowalski pulls out all the stops one night and says, “How many times do I gotta tell this guy his sister ain’t what’s the problem here? Is he bein’ over-dramatical or what?” that Fraser’s patience finally breaks. He can’t bear it anymore; nor, he would wager, although not with money, could any sane man. He pulls Ray to him and kisses him fiercely, forcing Ray’s mouth open with his own, dragging their tongues together until neither heart nor mind knows reason, and reason itself can take a flying leap.

After seemingly endless moments, Ray responds with enthusiasm, and after even longer moments, they pull themselves apart. Fraser never wants the kiss to stop, though, since it is so much better than words could ever be. He never thought he’d ever have reason to believe the human mouth could be put to better use than speaking, not after…. Well, it had been several years since he’d found anything a mouth could do to be more compelling than speech.

“Took you long enough,” Ray says smugly, his voice now smoky and raw with desire. “You gonna kiss me some more, or we gonna just go straight to the fucking?” Dear God, how could Fraser have ever found Ray Kowalski’s voice anything but enchanting, mesmerizing, delightful and downright erotic? How could he have criticized this man’s syntax? Cursed the crude slang that dropped from his soft, sinfully wicked mouth? Ray truly is a poet.

“Shut up and kiss me,” Fraser says, and Ray obliges. 

For his part, Ray’s been wondering how he could ever get his wordy, weird, attractive and weirdly attractive friend and partner to shut the hell up. Now he knows: all he’s gotta do is mangle enough words. And he’s more than good with repeating the action as necessary.


End file.
